​About NFWF

Who We Are

• One of the nation's largest non-profit funders for fish and wildlife conservation
• Chartered by Congress in 1984 as an independent 501(c)(3)
• Governed by a 30-member Board of Directors approved by the Secretary of Interior, including the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Director and NOAA Administrator
• Transparent and accountable to Congress, federal agencies, and the public

What We Do

• Protect, restore and enhance our nation's natural heritage
• Engineer creative solutions to address conservation challenges for fish, wildlife, plants and habitats
• Create common ground between public and private sectors

How We Do It

• Provide grants to conservation organizations and agencies to implement science-based conservation plans
• Leverage public funding with private contributions (average 3:1) to achieve shared conservation outcomes.
• Manage and disburse funds that originate from court orders, settlements of legal cases, regulatory permits, licenses, and restoration and mitigation plans under IDEA (Impact Directed Environmental Accounts) program as a neutral, third-party fiduciary

Our Success

• Since 1984, NFWF has awarded more than 12,100 grants to over 4,000 organizations and leveraged $618 million in federal funds into over $2.1 billion for conservation
• In FY 2011, NFWF leveraged $46 million in federal funds for a total conservation investment of $130 million
• NFWF currently works with 14 federal partners and more than 50 corporate and foundation partners
• NFWF's IDEA (Impact Directed Environmental Accounts) program manages more than $350 million in mitigation funds to accomplish positive conservation outcomes

Our Conservation Focus

• Restoring and protecting imperiled species
• Promoting healthy oceans and estuaries
• Improving working landscapes for wildlife
• Advancing sustainable fisheries
• Conserving water for wildlife and people